1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a composite cable and a composite harness and, in particular, a composite cable and a composite harness which are used in a vehicle such as automobile for connection between a wheel side and a vehicle body side.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, electrically operated brake units are used in vehicles such as automobiles.
Electro-mechanical brakes (EMB) and electric parking brakes (EPB) are known as such electrically operated brake units.
The electro-mechanical brakes, also simply called electric friction brake or electric brake, are configured such that a rotational drive force of a dedicated electric motor mounted on each wheel of a vehicle is controlled according to the operation amount (tread force or displacement amount) of a brake pedal by a driver, so that a piston driven by the electric motor presses brake pads against a disc rotor of the wheel to generate a braking force intended by the driver.
The electric parking brakes are configured such that a dedicated electric motor provided on each wheel of a vehicle is driven based on an operation performed on a parking brake activation switch by a driver after stopping a vehicle, so that a piston driven by the electric motor presses brake pads against a disc rotor of the wheel to generate a braking force.
Meanwhile, in recent years, sensors, e.g., ABS (anti-lock brake system) sensor for detecting the speed of a wheel rotation during motion, air pressure sensor for detecting air pressure of a tire and temperature sensor, etc., are often mounted on wheels of vehicles.
Accordingly, the wheel side and the vehicle body side are connected through composite cables in which a signal line for a sensor mounted on a wheel and/or a signal line for controlling an electro-mechanical brake and a power line for supplying power to an electric motor of electro-mechanical brake or electric parking brake are housed in one sheath. The composite cables with connectors integrally provided at end portions are called composite harness.
JP-A-2014-135153 discloses a composite cable in which a lubricant such as talc powder is interposed between plural electric wires and a sheath covering all the plural electric wires together so that friction between the electric wires and the sheath is reduced to reduce stress applied to the electric wires when being bent and flex resistance is thereby improved.